In aircraft cabins, the use of wireless radio technologies continuously increases. Wireless technologies may be used within the aircraft cabin, e.g., for communication within the aircraft or for in-flight entertainment systems. Further, on airports and within aircraft it might be necessary to keep track of certain items (like, e.g., baggage items, life vests, etc.) at the airport and/or within an aircraft. This technical field is generally known as “asset tracking.” Further, in case a particular device of the aircraft is defective, it is desirable to obtain the location of this defective device as soon as possible in order to avoid expensive service and repair time.
Especially in the field of asset tracking, Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is a known technique. So-called RFID tags can be manufactured in a very cost-effective manner, e.g., in the form of RFID labels that can be attached to any kind of item to be tracked. In general, three different types of RFID tags are known: passive, active, or battery-assisted passive. A passive RFID tag typically comprises an antenna coil and a memory with information stored therein. An RFID reader generates an alternating electromagnetic field, from which the antenna coil of the passive RFID tag receives energy in order to power an integrated circuit of the RFID tag. Information stored in the memory of the RFID tag may thereby be read out and transmitted back to the RFID reader by changing the electrical loading the RFID tag represents. Thereby, the alternating electromagnetic field is modified and this modification can be read out by the RFID reader in order to obtain the desired information from the RFID tag. However, for receiving the data from the RFID tag, a special RFID reader is necessary and the RFID tags can only transmit small amounts of data over a very short range.
Further, active and battery-assisted passive RFID tags require an energy source, e.g., in the form of a battery or an external power supply, which makes them inflexible, bulky, and/or expensive.
Further, so-called beacons are known, which can transmit a wireless data signal under the Bluetooth® low energy (BLE) technology (also known as Bluetooth® Smart), which is part of the Bluetooth 4.0 standard. However, these BLE beacons require an external energy source or an internal energy source, like a battery. Therefore, BLE beacons are bulky, expensive, and have a limited life time.